Lars Grier
Lars Jonathan Grier (born September 25, 1990), professionally known as Lars Grier, 'is an American professional wrestler currently signed to 'Elite Answers Wrestling '''performing under the Voltage brand. His professional wrestling career began in 2016 where he first signed a contract in October of 2016, and was assigned to perform on the Showdown brand of EAW, debuting on the 19th of November. Early Life Grier was born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio. He is the first child born to a 35 year old meat butcherer, named Jonathan Ford, and the first and only child of 32 year old Carol Grier. Grier is of Filipino and Italian descent on his mother's side, with English on his father's side; Grier never went to university, only graduating after high-school, working as a cashier during his young adult years. According to several interviews, Grier has stated that he participated in many illegal activities during much of his teenage years, such as drug trafficking, battery and assault. He has also stated that he was once a frequent dumpster-diver. Grier has states that his father was an alchoholic, and "almost every night he would come home, sober and intoxicated, and would beat Grier's mother." He has referenced his mother as the only individual to have taken care of him, which she did until her untimely passing at the age of 45 from Leukemia, just as he had graduated from high school. After his mother's death, Grier would eventually become intrigued with wrestling after searching for a job to finance himself, and eventually EAW offered him a contract on October of 2016, after excelling in a developmental tryout. Professional wrestling career '''Elite Answers Wrestling (November 2016 -present) On November 10th, 2016, it was announced that Lars Grier had been signed with Elite Answers Wrestling and had been drafted to the Showdown Brand. Lars Grier had his first professional wrestling match on the November 19 2016, episode of Showdown, where he faced off against Armani Colace in a singles match. He defeated Colace with the Demolition Drop. Pursuit of EAW New Breed Championship and EAW National Elite Championship (December 2016 - January 2017 and February 2017 - March 2017) At the 2016 EAW Awards Show, Lars Grier participated in a 15-man battle royal to determine the #1 contender to the EAW New Breed Championship. Grier would go on to win that match, eliminating runner-up Finnegan Wakefield via a Demolition Drop to the outside. On the next episode of Showdown, Grier would interrupt in a King of Elite First Round Match between Ryan Marx and Chris Elite. Grier jumped over the barricade and into the ring then proceeded to attack Chris Elite, hitting him with a Butcher's Knee and a Demolition Drop. Due to the interference, this gave a disqualification win for Chris Elite, therefore costing Marx his chance to become King of Elite. The next week, Grier faced newcomer Kotaro Gin in a singles match with Ryan Marx watching at ringside. He soundly beat him, cementing his status as #1 Contender. After this, it was announced that Grier would be facing Ryan Marx in a EAW New Breed Championship match at King of Elite, with this being Marx's first defense. At King of Elite, Lars Grier was defeated by Ryan Marx, who retained his New Breed title. On an episode of Showdown the week before Reasonable Doubt, HRDO would announce that there would be a battle royale for a shot at the EAW National Elite Championship, which would take place at Reasonable Doubt, in which Grier would compete in. He would win that match at Reasonable Doubt, with the final elimination being newcomer Theron Nikolas. On the March 5th episode of Showdown, HRDO announced the annual Gold Rush tournament, announcing Grrier as part of the lineup of competitors. Later on in the night, Grier cost McAllister's chance to advance by interfering in the match, distracting him, which caused Nobi to pick up the win. However, McAllister got payback after distracting Grier and costing him his match with Nico Borg. The next week, Grier cashed in his number one contendership opportunity for Gold Mine, where him and Rex would trade words. At Showdown: Gold Mine, Lars Grier was defeated by Rex McAllister. Early storylines and Grand Rampage (Early 2017 - April 2017) On the Showdown after King of Elite, Grier defeated Terry Chambers in a singles match, regaining momentum after losing to Ryan Marx. On the same night, HRDO announced the participants for the 2017 Gold Rush Tournament, including Grier, where the winner would go on to face Lannister for the EAW Answers World Championship at Grand Rampage. On the February 11th episode of Showdown, HRDO would announce that there would be a special event that would hold the finals for the Gold Rush tournament, named "Showdown: Gold Mine". The next Showdown, Lars Grier, Chris Elite, and Terry Chambers fought in a six man tag match against Rex McAllister, Matt Ryder, and Nico Borg. The match was sabotaged, however, when Darkane attacked Terry Chambers before the match. Grier and Elite still agreed to fight, but were defeated. After Reasonable Doubt, Grier fought Nico Borg in the main event of the March 5, 2017 episode of Showdown. Grier failed to advance after Rex McAllister costed him the victory. After Showdown: Gold Mine, Lars Grier faced newcomer Danny Stone in a singles match. Danny Stone won the match, but after Grier snapped and blindsided him, hitting him with an Eye of Grier and a Disasterpiece on the announce table after the match. The next Showdown, Grier attacked Luke Roberts and MJX during their match, and demanded to be put in as #30 in the Grand Rampage match. HRDO responded by creating a battle royal between all Showdown participants in the Grand Rampage match next week, which Grier lost once more, as Ryan Marx won the battle royal, becoming the #30 entrant. At Grand Rampage, Grier entered the Grand Rampage match at #23, and was the 18th elimination, being eliminated by the 13th entrant and eventual winner of the Grand Rampage match, The Pizza Boy. The Raven (April 2017 - present) The King's Guard (May 2017 - July 2017) After Grier's disappointing performance at the Grand Rampage match, he decided it was time to debut and create a new persona, one he dubbed as "The Raven". Grier debuted his new version of himself on the Showdown after Grand Rampage, defeating Chris Elite. The next week, then King of Elite Tiberius IV came out to announce the newest member of his King's Guard, to which he then shocked the world by introducing Lars Grier as the newest member, replacing Drake Jaeger. He was knighted by Tiberius, and in the next coming months Grier would be successful in winning most of his matches, fighting battles in the name of his King. On the May 20th edition of Showdown, Grier would defeat Darkane to qualify for the annual Pain for Pride Cash in the Vault Match, becoming the first man to qualify. Over the next coming weeks, the next few competitors were qualified; those being Nico Borg, Keelan Cetinich, Maero, TLA, and Scott Oasis. On the Jun 3rd edition of Showdown, Lars Grier fought against Nico Borg, winning by disqualification after Scott Oasis came out and attacked both men. The next week, Grier would team with Nico Borg to fight Oasis and TLA, in a winning effort after Nico Borg got the final pin. On the first night of Pain for Pride X, Lars Grier would participate in his first Cash in the Vault ladder match, which also was his first Pain for Pride. All six men would battle a show-stealing ladder match, with Grier taking out Scott Oasis with two Ravenbeaks, and spearing nearly everyone else in the match. However, despite his best efforts, Grier would be on the losing side once more as the ladder he stood on came falling down, and with Nico Borg grabbing the breifcase, winning the ladder match. Lars Grier would then disband from the King's Guard at the 2017 EAW Draft, being drafted to the Voltage brand. Voltage (2017 - present) At the 2017 EAW Draft, Grier would be drafted to EAW's Voltage brand, making it the first time he had ever done so. After his loss at Pain for Pride, Grier took on a much darker path, and began to change his appearance drastically; gaining long hair, and painting red and purple face paint as a symbolic representation of this darker version of himself. On his Voltage debut, he fought against Keelan Cetinich, losing, but rebounding the next week by defeating Anthony Leonhart dominantly. Feud with APOCALYPSE (July 2017 - September 2017) After losing to Keelan Cetinich, Lars Grier would be interviewed by Cassidy Vega immediately after the match, only to be interrupted by APOCALYPSE throwing backstage officials as he came by. Grier would smirk as APOCALYPSE came near him, only seeming to make more aggravated. The tension would eventually come to a head on the July 23rd edition of Voltage, when after cheating to defeat Carson Ramsay, Ramsay would hit Grier with the Fateful Eighty-Nine, leaving him for APOCALYPSE, who attacked the downed Grier with a Helix Nebula and a sit-out chokebomb. The week after that, Grier would come out, seeking vengeance against APOCALYPSE, scouring throughout the arena, asking and threatening everyone on the location of APOCALYPSE. Eventually, APOCALYPSE came out and assaulted Grier from behind, turning it into a frenzied and brutal brawl backstage, ending with Grier spearing APOCALYPSE down a flight of stairs. The next week on Voltage, Grier would face Cody Marshall, with Grier being picked by Marshall's rival El Ironico to be Cody's opponent, but was defeated. After the match, the scheduled match that was to take place, APOCALYPSE versus El Ironico, did not occur as Grier would Gore APOCALYPSE with the entire brawl ending with Ironico and Grier in the ring, calling for Marshall and Diemos to fight them. The next week, Grier Grier would face Carlos Rosso in a singles match, and defeat him. On the same night, Keelan Cetinich would announce the members of his team that would face Carlos' team at Territorial Invasion: Finnegan Wakefield, El Ironico, and Lars Grier. According to Grier himself, he stated that he only agreed to join in order to get his hands on APOCALYPSE. On the go-home show before Territorial Invasion, the members of Team Keelan and Team Carlos all came out and brawled all throughout the arena, with APOCALYPSE and Lars Grier continuing to brawl each other even after commercials had started. On the 2017 edition of Territorial Invasion, Team Keelan and Team Carlos would battle in a 30-minute No Disqualification Iron Man Match. After an amazing and brutal match, Grier would pull Team Keelan back to a winning state, gaining two back-to-back pins and winning the match for his team. According to Keelan Cetinich himself, Grier was the "MVP of the match" due to his standout performance. Kenny Drake had also stated before the match that the man who gained the final pinfall in the match for their team would obtain a "special opportunity", therefore being Grier who had won it. On the September 3th edition of Voltage, after witnessing APOCALYPSE's match against Keelan Cetinich, Kenny Drake would visit Grier and tell him that his reward would come later, and that at Voltage's Supershow Ground Zero, he would face APOCALYPSE in a Grave Consequences match. On the September 10th edition of Voltage, after defeating the Interwire Champion Amadeus, APOCALYPSE came out, carrying a metal casket over his shoulders, throwing it into the ring after attacking Grier with a Helix Nebula. He then chokeslammed Grier into the casket, the lid shutting upon impact. At the Voltage Supershow: Ground Zero, Lars Grier would battle APOCALYPSE in a chaotic Grave Consequences match, using various objects and weaponry such as kendo sticks, chairs, glass thumbtacks and light tubes. Grier would secure the victory after a brutal exchange, hitting the Ravenbeak from the top rope, sending him onto a pile of light tubes and thumbtacks, before eventually shutting the lid of the casket, obtaining the victory. World Heavyweight Championship Pursuits (September 2017 - Present) On the Voltage after Ground Zero, Grier would monitor the main event of World Heavyweight Champion Jamie O'Hara versus Chris Elite. He was approached by Voltage General Manager, Kenny Drake, asking about his special opportunity. Allowing Grier to dictate what his opportunity was, Grier decided to insert himself into the EAW World Heavyweight Championship Extreme Elimination Chamber match at Road to Redemption 11, becoming the first entrant. The next week, Grier would face O'Hara in the opening match, suffering a crushing loss after getting little offence and kicking out of an In Excelsis. This loss motivated Grier to fight harder the next time he would face O'Hara. The next week on Voltage, Grier faced another Chamber participant, TLA in singles action, ultimately losing. After a closely-fought match, TLA attempted to shake Grier's hand but he brushed him off, heading to the back disappointed. On the October 15th edition of Voltage, Lars Grier was included in the "World Heavyweight Championship Forum" between the six competitors: Lars Grier, Keelan Cetinich, TLA, Amadeus, Carlos Rosso, and Jamie O'Hara. Grier however, did not get a chance to speak at the forum. The talk ended in a full-on brawl, with Grier at first getting the upper hand by hitting the Ravenbeak on TLA, until he was laid out by a FATE from Amadeus. Later on that night, Grier would face the New Breed Champion, Finnegan Wakefield and defeat him. After the main event between Keelan Cetinich and Jamie O'Hara, Grier would hit a surprise attack on the World Champion, hitting him with a spear, staring down TLA and raising the title, in an act of defiance. On the October 22nd edition of Voltage, in his hometown of Cincinnati, Grier would address recent events, talking about his career trajectory and how disrespecting him is unwise. He then staked his claim of taking the championship away from O'Hara, who sat in the skybox, watching the show unfold. Earlier in the night, Grier would interfere in a match between TLA and Keelan along with Carlos Rosso, with the two being laid out by both men. After the main event of Carlos Rosso against Amadeus for the Interwire title, the night ended with a frenzied brawl between the six competitors, as Lars Grier would attack an unsuspecting O'Hara in the skybox, spearing him through the glass pane and falling down onto production tables below. The night ended with the entrants still fighting as the show faded to black. However, due to the unfortunate passing of his friend and fellow EAW Elitist, Brody Sparks, Road to Redemption 2017 was postponed to the following week. The whole of EAW was left to grieve and process, taking a huge blow to company morale. A memorial show took place instead, named "Thank You Brody." Grier was one of the many superstars who gave a message in a confessional. In tribute to Sparks, Grier designed new blue and yellow ring gear with her emblem on it to wear at Road to Redemption, as did others in the company. At Road to Redemption 11, Lars Grier participated in the EAW World Heavyweight Championship Extreme Elimination Chamber match, and along with Amadeus was one of the two starters in the match. He eliminated Amadeus, marking the first elimination in the match. Brawling with the other competitors, Grier was finally eliminated by Carlos Rosso, after a Red Spike through the steel panelling of the Chamber and down onto the floor, knocking Grier out. He was the second eliminated in the match. This was a crushing loss for Grier, who desperately wanted to walk out of Road to Redemption as World Heavyweight Champion. The next week on Voltage, Lars Grier and Keelan Cetinich would meet with Kenny Drake to discuss match options that they had. Both men stated they wanted to fight Amadeus for the Interwire Championship, but Kenny Drake refused. Instead, Drake placed Grier and Cetinich in a Electric Deathmatch at Shock Value to determine the #1 Contender to the World Heavyweight Championship. On the November 19th edition of Voltage, Grier fought in the main-event of the show in a six-man tag match with Jon McAdams and Jamie O'Hara, facing against rivals Chris Elite, Finnegan Wakefield, and Keelan Cetinich, where his team would lose. At Shock Value, Lars Grier defeated Keelan Cetinich in the Electric Deathmatch, becoming the new #1 Contender to the World Heavyweight Championship. On the Voltage after Shock Value, Grier and O'Hara met face-to-face and had a war of words, ending after the champion slapped Grier in the face. The next week before the EAW Awards Show, Grier continued to play mind games with the champions as the lights flickered, raven sounds playing throughout the arena, and even an actual raven perched on the ring post. After defeating Finnegan Wakefield, Grier would hit O'Hara with the Ravenbeak Spear as he attempted to walk to the backstage area. Other Media In September 2017, Grier took part in a four-part YouTube web series, EAW OnTheRoad, ''which documented Grier's daily life, from his home to getting ready before an EAW event. In December 2017, it was reported that he had been cast as the male lead in the EAW Studios neo-noir action thriller film ''Throwback, which is slated to release in 2018. Grier appeared in EAW 2K18 ''as a playable character, marking it as his first appearance in the EAW 2K series. Filmography '''Film' Television Video Games Personal Life Grier lives in Las Vegas, Nevada, and also owns a small house in Cincinnati, Ohio. He is also fluent in Mandarin Chinese. In an interview with Pro Wrestling Illustrated, Grier revealed that he enjoyed rap music, citing it as his favourite music genre, and citing his favourite artists as Eminem, Tupac Shakur, Kendrick Lamar, and Logic. Grier is also good friends with Tiberius IV from their time in the King's Guard. He cites Brian Daniels, CM Banks, and Robbie V as his biggest professional inspirations. After the untimely passing of one of his closest friends, Brody Sparks, Grier decided to honor her legacy during the memorial show "Thank You, Brody" by changing the color of his face-paint to blue and yellow, and wearing a "Thank You Brody" logo on his vest. To this day, he pays tribute to her by wearing an arm band brandishing her emblem, and on the anniversary of her birthday, he changes the color of his face-paint to match her color scheme. In wrestling * Finishing Moves ** Ravenbeak (Gore) ** Corax Hematoma (Inverted Go to Sleep) ** Pick the Bones (Chickenwing Over the Shoulder Crossface) * Signature Moves ** Bad Omens (Pumphandle Neckbreaker) ** Huginn's Feast (Shotei to the temple, followed by a Rolling Fireman's Carry Senton, rolled into a Fireman's Carry Neckbreaker) ** Black Order (Fireman's Carry Sit-out Powerbomb) * Nicknames ** The Raven ** Manifestation of Destruction * Entrance themes ** "Right Between the Eyes" by Crobot (November 2016 - May 2017) ** "Survival" by Eminem (May 2017 - July 2017) ** "Nice to Meet Me" by Zack Hemsey (July 2017 - November 2017) ** "Out of the Black" by Royal Blood (November 2017 - present) Championships and accomplishments * Championships ** N/A * Accomplishments/Accolades ** 2017 Next Up In 2018 ** Most Valuable Elitist (Weekly) *** 1x Most Valuable Elitist *** 5x Promoer of the Week *** 3x Rising Star of the Week *** 2x Match of the Week *** 2x Beef of the Week * Former member of Tiberius IV's King's Guard (May 2017 - July 2017) Category:American characters Category:Characters from Cincinnati, OH Category:Powerhouses Category:Characters Born in Ohio Category:Characters from Ohio Category:Elite Answers Wrestling Category:EAW Category:EAW Elitist Category:Wrestlers Category:American Wrestlers Category:American professional wrestlers